


Around Corners

by Caroline Crane (carolinecrane)



Category: Sky High (2005)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-12-24
Updated: 2008-12-24
Packaged: 2018-01-25 09:05:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1643078
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/Caroline%20Crane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Strongholds aren't supposed to be afraid of anything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Around Corners

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Atlantia

Warren started out determined to hate Will. It wasn't hard; he'd heard the name `Will Stronghold' so many times that by the time the kid actually showed up at Sky High, Warren hated him just for being there. Then there was the whole thing with their fathers, which, granted, was kind of stupid, considering Warren didn't even really know his father. He'd never been much use even when he wasn't in prison, but The Commander was pretty smug about the whole thing and it wasn't hard to imagine that his kid would be too.

So he hated Will before he got to know him, and when he turned out to be a nice guy Warren resented him for a whole new reason. He wasn't supposed to be nice; he was supposed to be an asshole like his old man, and then Warren would have a perfect excuse to hate him on sight.

And the truth was, he was a little _too_ nice. It was kind of pathetic how hard he tried to make everyone like him, and Warren resented that too. Because nobody liked Warren, and that was exactly how he wanted it. Until Will and his friends showed up, and all of a sudden people were sitting at his table and waving to him in the halls and asking his _advice_ , for fuck's sake. 

All of which was Will's fault, Warren was pretty sure, though he couldn't actually prove it. But it turned out that Will and his friends were the only ones brave enough to stand up to Gwen, and Warren had to respect them for that. He still wasn't that crazy about the way they followed him around school and just struck up conversations whenever they felt like it, but he didn't actually get up and walk away when one of them sat down anymore.

It was ruining his reputation, but he was mostly okay with that.

So he wasn't really thrilled when Will showed up at the Paper Lantern looking like someone had just kicked his puppy, but he wasn't as annoyed as he was the first time it happened. They were friends now, anyway, and he knew that meant Will got to show up whenever he wanted and Warren was supposed to listen to him talk about his feelings or whatever. He rolled his eyes and finished wiping down the table he'd just cleared, then crossed the room to look down at Will.

"What's wrong with you?"

He could tell before Will started talking that this was going to be about Layla; _everything_ was about Layla lately, and it was making Warren rethink the whole concept of having friends. 

"I broke up with Layla," Will answered, looking up at him with those big eyes and okay, Warren wasn't expecting _that_.

"On purpose?"

"Yeah," Will said, but he didn't sound all that happy about it. And Warren wasn't an expert or anything, but he was pretty sure when you broke up with someone you were supposed to be relieved or something. "She hates me."

Warren sighed and slid into the seat opposite Will, stealing a quick glance back at the kitchen door before he answered. "She didn't hate you when you blew her off for Gwen, so she'll probably get over this too."

He wasn't positive that was true, but Layla did seem to have a pretty big masochistic streak where Will was concerned, so Warren wouldn't be surprised. 

"She cried a lot," Will said, shuddering a little at the memory, and Warren didn't blame him for that. He had no idea what to do when a girl started crying, which was why he tried to avoid them as much as possible. The problem was that Layla seemed to think of him as some kind of substitute best friend, and he wouldn't be surprised if she showed up to cry on his shoulder any second now. 

"Why'd you break up with her, anyway? I thought you guys were crazy about each other."

Will shrugged and looked down at his hands where they rested on the table. "I just wish things could go back to the way they were before."

Warren had sort of wondered since they got together whether Will was with Layla because he wanted to be, or because he thought he should be. He'd never said anything, because he hadn't really wanted to have this conversation with Will or anybody else, for that matter. And okay, maybe there was a little part of him that kind of hoped Will wasn't as into Layla as everyone thought he was, but mostly he ignored that part of himself. It was pathetic, for one thing, and having to admit that he was attracted to somebody like Will Stronghold would destroy whatever was left of his reputation.

So far that hadn't made it go away, though, and Warren clamped down hard on the surge of... _something_ in his chest when Will looked up at him. And the thing was Warren knew exactly how he felt; there had been plenty of times when he wished things could just go back to the way they were before Will Stronghold barged into his life. 

"Before what?" 

"Before Layla, before Gwen...before everything," Will answered. "Before I found out how much I suck at dating girls."

Warren knew he should get up and go back to work, that he should tell Will to suck it up and get over himself. People broke up all the time and it didn't mean anything, and Will and Layla would probably be back together by tomorrow anyway. But that wasn't what he wanted to happen, and instead of being smart and walking away he opened his mouth again.

"So what, you're gonna try dating guys now?"

He expected Will to laugh, maybe make a face at him or even get a little grossed out. He wasn't expecting Will to shrug and look away, staring out the window like suddenly the parking lot was the most fascinating view in town. 

"You got somebody particular in mind?" Warren heard himself ask, and he had no idea who was controlling his mouth at the moment, but it definitely wasn't him. Because chances were Will did, and if he said `Ethan' or...Jesus, _Zach_ , Warren was going to drop out of school and start on that life of crime everybody was expecting from him anyway. 

But Will didn't blush and look down at the table while he muttered Zach's name. He didn't say Ethan's name either, though Warren probably could have lived with that one. He did blush, then he slid out of the booth and mumbled something about his mother grounding him for life if he showed up late again, and before Warren could say more than, "Stronghold, wait," he was gone.

It was the first time in his life he wished he'd gotten super speed or flight instead of pyrotechnics; they looked cool, sure, but his power didn't help at all when it came to catching up with somebody like Will. Anyway, he still had half a shift to get through, and Warren sighed and told himself it was for the best as he got back to work.

~

All things considered, this was turning out to be the worst day of Will's life. Breaking up with Layla was bad enough; he knew it was the right thing to do, but he hadn't been prepared for the amount of crying involved. He almost wished she'd thrown stuff or maybe tried to choke him with a houseplant; he had a feeling that would have been less scary than what did happen. 

He'd gone to Warren looking for...well, he wasn't exactly sure what. He hadn't planned to come out to him, that was for sure, and he definitely hadn't planned to tell Warren that he was the reason Will had broken up with Layla. Well, sort of, anyway, because Will was pretty sure at this point that his failure with girls had something to do with the fact that he wasn't attracted to either of the ones he'd dated, but he hadn't tested his theory with any guys yet.

Not that he'd mind testing it with Warren. In fact, of all the guys he knew, Warren was definitely at the top of the list. Okay, Warren pretty much _was_ the list. But Will wasn't about to tell him that, because he liked being Warren's friend and more than that, he didn't feel like getting barbecued any time soon.

Only he practically had told Warren the truth, and ever since he left the Paper Lantern Will had been thinking about what would have happened if he'd stayed. Mostly he'd been replaying Warren's last question over and over in his mind, remembering the way Warren's voice dropped just a little when he asked if Will had anybody particular in mind. Like he _wanted_ to know, or maybe he already did.

He'd tried to stop thinking about it, to focus on his homework or how he was going to break it to his dad that he was gay, or even how much Layla hated him. Anything to keep from remembering the look on Warren's face when Will ran out of the Paper Lantern, because every time he pictured it he had to stop himself from going right back over there and telling Warren the truth. Except that he'd been torturing himself for hours now, and Warren was probably home already.

Will had been to Warren's house once. They didn't hang out there - everybody seemed to congregate at Will's house - and the only time Will had been inside it was just long enough for Warren to grab his jacket. But he knew which room was Warren's, so it wasn't hard to fly over there, just to see if Warren's light was on.

Warren's room was on the second floor, up in the far right hand corner of the house. His window was dark, and Will was debating whether or not to fly up there, just to see if he was already asleep, when a throat cleared behind him. He blushed and turned around, heart skipping a beat when he looked up to find Warren watching him.

"Are you stalking me or something? Because you're pretty lousy at it."

"No," Will said, wincing when his voice squeaked. "I was...I mean...I'm not sure what I'm doing."

Warren rolled his eyes, but he wasn't telling Will to go home - at least not yet - and Will decided to take that as a good sign. "I thought all you Strongholds were supposed to be brave."

"I...what?"

Warren smirked and took a few steps forward, and Will wasn't sure how it happened, but suddenly he was right _there_ and wow, he had a really good smile. "The way your old man's always going on about `The Stronghold Three' to the press, I figured you wouldn't be afraid of anything. But I guess he never saw this coming."

And if Will's brain had been working at the time he would have agreed, because there was no way his father would have predicted this. In fact, he was pretty sure his father was going to hate this more than he hated the idea of Will as a sidekick. But he wasn't thinking about his father right now, because Warren had gotten closer somehow in the past three seconds, and his hand was resting on the back of Will's neck.

His fingers were just a little warmer than Will expected, but he shivered anyway when Warren pulled him forward and kissed him. And it wasn't Will's first kiss, but it was the first one that sent a hot blush all the way to the roots of his _hair_ , and he knew it had nothing to do with Warren's super power. 

He didn't remember reaching up to grip the front of Warren's leather jacket, didn't remember pressing even closer until they were practically sharing the same space, and maybe that was some new super power they'd accidentally discovered. He made a mental note to test that theory later, when they weren't making out in the middle of a sidewalk where anyone could see them.

And he didn't remember closing his eyes, but when Warren pulled away a little Will tightened his grip automatically and opened them to frown at him. But Warren was grinning at him from up close now, and Will's heart skipped another beat at the sight. "You're an idiot, Stronghold."

Will thought about arguing, about pointing out all the good reasons for not blurting out his feelings for Warren back at the restaurant. They wouldn't have been able to do this, for one thing, not if Warren wanted to keep his job. But Warren was already leaning in to kiss him again, which meant they could have been doing this a lot sooner, and Will decided this was one of those times when maybe Warren was right. 

 


End file.
